Name:Leo TemoryAge: 26Hometown: Los AngelesConnection to your teammate: CousinCurrent occupation: Entrepreneur/RestaurateurDescribe what you do: I own and operate a restaurant and recently opened a bar/lounge..3 words to describe you: Smart, funny and friendly.Favorite hobbies: Hiking, traveling, tennis and cooking.What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Climbing Mt. Whitney, the highest summit in the contiguous United States, with no prior experience.What famous person reminds you of yourself? Bill GatesWhat famous person reminds you of your teammate? Kobe BryantWhat scares you most about traveling? Missing my flight or a bad taxi.What excites you most about traveling? Meeting and interacting with different cultures.Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: Sometimes my cousin doesnít listen or take my advice or direction to heart. I want to show him that I mean well and have him listen and be patient with me.Pet peeve about your teammate: That he is very secretive and sometimes isnít serious enough.What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Venezuela, because the women are beautiful in South America.What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? I hope to become closer to my cousin and show the entire world that Afghans are great, fun people and not just what we are portrayed in the media.

Name: Jamal ZadranAge: 26Hometown: Los AngelesConnection to your teammate: CousinCurrent occupation: CEO/Owner of Z.I.G. (Zadran Investment Group)Describe what you do: I manage and operate Zadran Investment Group (Z.I.G.) where we own our own Independent Dealership to sell cars to the public. Z.I.G. also buys and flips homes in the Southern California area and operates as a Reality Firm to the Public. Part of my Investment Group also manages Equity Portfolios with trading of stocks, bonds and forex, and options.3 words to describe you: Persistent, confident and energetic.Favorite hobbies: Jet skiing, paintball and boogie boarding.What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Working in Afghanistan for two years with the U.S. Military.What famous person reminds you of yourself? Kobe Bryant Ė competitor and champion.What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Albert Einstein Ė his ideas are efficient and usually right.What scares you most about traveling? A bird hitting the aircraft and the plane crashing.What excites you most about traveling? Seeing the different cultural customs people have and being able to try it out with them if allowed. To interact with and actually leave a life-lasting memory to somebody across the world would give me a feeling of making some type of difference in their life even if itís only for a short time.Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: We need to trust one another more often and not be too stubborn. Sometimes we may need to agree to disagree and not bicker a lot.Pet peeve about your teammate: Heís very sensitive to things I may say to him or when I critique him.What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Kenya, because of the natural wildlife. Iím a big cat fanatic and love the characteristics. To see them in the wild would be nice.What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? To have more patience with one another and get through all challenges and obstacles with Leo. Though it will be difficult, the ultimate feeling should be worth it.

« Last Edit: January 13, 2014, 07:59:54 AM by georgiapeach »

Logged

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

They seem like nice guys. So far, they also seem like the team that is most likely to have neat interaction with locals, which is something that seems to have been missing from the more recent seasons I've watched. Hopefully they do take the time to do that, because it will make the Race that much better for those of us who are watching.

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

The Daily Trojan caught up with Temory to talk to him about what he learned at USC and how heís applied that in his life, from building a business to being a contestant on The Amazing Race:

DT: What made you decide to go on The Amazing Race?

Temory: My cousin and I were fans from season one, but we were too young at the time. Then he was off doing his own thing, and I was off doing my own thing. And then, finally, the stars aligned. The process is actually not as easy as it looks, but I got a call and the next thing you know, weíre on The Amazing Race and traveling [around] the world. It was probably the funnest, most memorable time of my life ó after USC, of course.

DT: This is your first reality TV show. Did you have any expectations before you started shooting?

Temory: Going in, watching 22 seasons of The Amazing Race on DVD, you think itís easy, but the production that goes into it, the amount of crew, the amount of staff that goes on to make such a show, itís like an orchestra and itís always perfectly orchestrated and itís just remarkable. Itís like if you put the million dollars aside itís like itís priceless, the experience you get.

DT: What was life like as a contestant on reality TV?

Temory: Well, I always love attention. With my group of friends, I like to crack jokes, go up to people, so in that regard I loved having a camera around you 24 hours a day practically recording everything you do, but definitely still to this day it feels surreal, like I canít believe I was on The Amazing Race. I just watched a commercial the other day, and Iím like, ďWow I canít believe thatís me.Ē Iím just thankful I get to relive it again when it airs.

DT: What do you hope audience members take out of your experience on the show?

Temory: I think I really brought the Trojan family mentality out in the race. You could see the humor that we bring, the smarts, the strength that we bring, basically the whole all-around perspective that encompasses the USC culture. I tried my best to bring it to the show with my cousin. Hopefully, everyone sees weíre fun-loving, crazy fans that want to have a good time.

DT: Did you learn anything at USC which you were able to apply to the show?

Temory: If USC taught me one thing, it was to network. I tell that to everybody, everyday, ďNetwork, network!Ē and that went along with The Amazing Race. Itís networking in a different perspective, communicating with different cultures, learning from different cultures, interacting, taking it all in Ö Itís not all about the million dollars, but the experience ó itís the experience of a lifetime.

DT: What do you think you and your cousin bring that gives you an advantage stand apart?

Temory: Definitely what we bring is culture. We bring a little diversity. We can actually connect with all the other cultures around the world, all the different people, different ethnicities from kids to adults. Our parents immigrated here, so they have that aspect. We have that within us because weíre Afghan Americans so I think itíll be easier for us to connect if we visit a third world country or if we visit another country, you know, weíre immigrants, theyíre immigrants so we can all sort of relate. Weíll bring the fun, diversity, excitement Ö a ton of things we bring weíre proud of. But youíll just have to watch and see.

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

Contestants and cousins Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran, CEO/Owner of Zadran Investment Group, visited the KCAL9 studios Friday to talk about the upcoming season and the game changing twists from last season, the Double Express Pass.